For home-security vendor, crime can mean business

David Schultz of Galloway, vice president of East Coast operations for Integrity Alarms, Egg Harbor Township, demonstrates an installation in the showroom section designed for a kitchen on Monday.

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — Customers have many reasons to install a home-security system, according to Integrity Alarms, based in Egg Harbor Township.

The company on Delilah Road is an authorized dealer of ADT security systems for homes and businesses, including mall stores and Atlantic City casino merchants.

New homeowners might be motivated to protect their families and possessions as they settle into an unfamiliar neighborhood. Some customers have had a change in their living situation such as a retirement, divorce or death in the family that makes them consider more security.

But often a sale can be prompted simply by an eye-opening burglary a few doors or streets away, said David Schultz, vice president of East Coast operations at Integrity Alarms.

Schultz, 64, of Galloway Township, said his representatives keep close tabs on crime rates, home invasions and burglaries when making sales pitches.

“The whole thing is about peace of mind,” he said. “We were canvassing a newer neighborhood in Mays Landing, and at the second house we stopped at, the homeowner said, ‘We were just going to call you. We had a burglary nearby.’ We sold eight systems there in two days.”

Schultz oversees a sales team in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsyl-vania that finds customers through a combination of telemarketing, direct mail and old-fashioned door-to-door canvassing.

The ADT brand and its stop-sign icon is recognizable to most customers, he said. They sell systems that operate both over a land-line telephone or over a wireless network that comes with its own battery pack in the event of a power outage.

Many residents choose to include smoke or fire alarms and intercom services that link directly to the ADT call center. They also offer options that give customers remote access to their alarm systems.

Integrity Alarms is a family business founded in 2005 in Fullerton, Calif., by Michael Nelson, formerly of Margate and Schultz’s nephew.

Nelson opened the East Coast office in 2009 with Schultz and Schultz’s brother-in-law, Larry Nelson. Integrity Alarms is a top 10 dealer for ADT, which has 600 authorized dealers nationwide, Schultz said.

Schultz said Integrity Alarms’ business plan focuses less on selling equipment than signing up new customers. As a result, they offer the security equipment largely free of charge, a practice not unlike cellphone companies.

“We’re not in the equipment business. So we give you a free system that is probably better than what you might get somewhere else,” he said.

The sensors are sophisticated enough to distinguish a burglar from a hyperactive puppy, Schultz said.

Customers have the option to be informed about an intrusion or fire alarm before the call goes to law enforcement or the Fire Department. This can help prevent occasional false alarms that can result in some municipalities’ charging fees to homeowners.

The company uses licensed contractors to do the installations. They’re familiar with potential trouble spots such as a patio or basement door, he said.

“The technicians can be pretty fanatical about their work, as they should be. They warranty their work,” he said.

Schultz said he sees lots of room for expansion. The security business is somewhat recession-proof.

“When times are good, people want to protect what they have,” he said.